Drama no.1 dad

So, the film is finished! And very happy with the result I am too. I think the whole group is. I think that it fur fills the vision that we had of it.

The process of making this film has been long but also enjoyable. As producer, when we got the final idea down I was keen to start planning as soon as possible, wanting to avoid a last minute shoot.  So I spent a lot of the Easter holidays tracking down actors so that we were able to audition them as soon as we got back to Uni. This meant that we had a lot of rehearsal time as well as plenty of time for the actual shoot.  Also sorting out the location was a slight difficulty. The original plans fell through but luckily we were able to shoot in the Bar where Katie (editor) works. Pre production was all done with in the allotted time and we were more that ready to start shooting.

The shoots, four spread over the week all went very well. The planning I think was integral, every one worked well together, to get the shot lists, story boards, props/costumes and schedules ready so that we could be as organised an efficient on the day as possible. I am very pleased with how well everything went. We got all the shots we needed and we were not panicking or in any mad rushes. We were able to be calm about the production and were able to enjoy it.

The edit also went very well. I was not as involved in this side as it was mainly the job of the editor-obviously- and the director. ‘Too many cooks...’ and all that. I went in a couple of times to see how it was going and to discuss ideas and changes that might need to be made.

So in general the process of this film’s fabrication was smooth and I feel that we have created a film that is entertaining and effective.

Our starting point of the script was a great one. It was a very strong and well written which made the whole process easier. It did almost come alive on the page and it wasn’t hard to visualise what it would become. When I saw the script I was very happy and I think that it contained everything we wanted in terms of story, mood, and theme.

The style of the film is very over stylised. For example the sound effects are very pronounced, which gives this idea of hyper reality. This is present in the dream sequences which help to reinforce that they are fantasy. The idea that things are always more amplified inside your own head is something that I think will resonate with the audience. This is one way in which we have tried to create this mood of tension with in the fantasies and to convey how Jack is feeling. The idea that everything seems amplified or worse inside his head shown by the over stylised way in which we have created the film helps to show how worried he is. The snappy editing also adds to this. It shows Jack’s thought process, each time something happens it is very quick and almost methodical, yet still ‘too much’. This shows the chaotic way in which he is thinking, reinforcing that he is scared of what the outcome is going to be. This style of editing is also comic and comes very much from the conventions that can be seen in the works of Edgar Wright. His films are probably the perfect example of over stylisation and hyper reality. However it always works because he uses them well. They have both a comic effect and an impact on the audience much like we were trying to give to our film.

The tone of the film is overall rather comic. The scenarios that Jack imagines are obviously over the top and the way in which the film is constructed lends its self to that. It is as the fantasies he is getting more and more absurd which it’s self is a comic idea. The scenes in the Gallery are also slightly comic. This is due to the relationship between Jack and George and their reactions to the situations. I think this is important or else I think the film could get a little on the dark side, being dragged down by Jack’s worry. Although this worry is completely justified and what a lot of teens would feel coming out, it’s not something that we wanted to convey in a way that was depressing or dark. I think the scenes in the gallery and the banter between the boys keeps the mood light. Again here the over stylising of things also adds to this.

The comic side of the piece I think is very important. Lucy (director) had a friend compose some music for the piece and personally I think that it really adds to the film. It works as punctuation and also helps to keep the mood light. There are a few musical ques, which I think really help to make the piece more effective and which help the audience to be drawn in. It also flows with the mood of the film ebbing and peaking with the scenarios and action on screen.

The mood of the film does have an ark. It builds as the scenarios get more and more ridiculous, building the comic element. However it then comes back down when Jack realises that he could lose his father. This helps the film to stay grounded in reality with out going too far into the realms of fantasy. It also shows that we do have a point to make with this film. That coming out is a serious issue and is not easy for some people.  However I really like that this film has a very positive out come. I would have been all to easy with this brief to come up with something that was dark and grey and depressing. Unanimously this is something that we agreed we did not want for this particular project. We wanted to do something different and fun.

 I honestly believe that we have achieved this. The film is funny and snappy and it still carries a message and has a strong story behind it. For these reasons I am incredibly happy with the result.

That's a wrap!

Day 4 Maggie May’s part 2.

So the day began by getting all the equipment from one location to another. We arrived at Maggie May’s at twelve which is when we had arranged to be able to get into the location. As with all of our shots we ere scheduled in a way that mean we knew exactly what we were meant to be doing and when. As soon as we got into the location we got the actor ready and set up the lighting and the shots.

The reason we had chosen to do these particular shots today was because out of the five set in the bar they required the most set ups. As with one of them we had to get mike dressed up in his drag out fit. This included costume and makeup sp obviously required a little more set up than the other scenes where he is in his school uniform. Once the set and actor’s were dressed the filming went relatively quickly. There were quite a few set ups t do with this scene. Mainly because we had to do a lot of extreme close ups of the drag costume. And also during this it was nessaccary to chance the lighting. We wanted to put in the colour filters to add a kind of ‘cabaret’ effect. Another colour the purpose serves is with the red and greens it creates an almost sickly tome which is good for this scenes as the dad is throwing up at the end. It also adds an interesting visual element.  After this we then had to set up the shot of the Dad throwing up. This also included getting just some sound of Tom wrenching. In the original script we had seen the Dad throwing up but this I felt was a logistical nightmare so we decided to just use the sound on a blackout screen This was definitely a better decision as leaving it to the audiences imagination is definitely better than having a shot of Mike covered in tinned carrots, that would have just looked cheap. I think it would have also undermined the quality of the film.

The next scene we filmed was where the Dad reacts badly. This again required quite a few set ups. We had to first film the dad which involved a different lighting set up as once again we had to use filters. We had a red light to represent the anger. Also we had had a shot of a canted tilt. This had to be allowed for in the schedule as it took a little longer to shoot that the other static set ups. Also we had to allow for the smashing of the glass and the clean up of that.

We also had to do a little ADR as we had some major wound issue last week when we were shooting.

Once again I have t say how pleased I am at how the day went. We seem to work really well as a team and we got everything shot on time and in an organised fashion.

And that’s a wrap!

Shoot day 3

Soot day 3

Today we shot the scenes that are set in the Bedroom. Jack being caught dancing and singing in front of the Mirror and Jack being thrown out of home. We did get everything shot, but maybe not in the most efficient way. The time constrictions of today were pretty much non-existant and we did not have all that much to shoot. We planned to start at eleven however due to issues outside of our control we didn’t actually get started until around twelve.

When we got started we got the first thing we had to do was dress the set. Because so little of the room is seen in shot we had to dress accordingly. In order to make the room seem convincingly like a stereotypically gay teenage boy’s room. The only thing in the frame was mike and the reflection in the mirror. We had Lucy’s massive, pink Audrey Hepburn poster. We stuck this up on the wall behind mike so that it reflected in the mirror. We also put up some fairy lights and a really cheesy valentines card. Because there was so little of the room actually in shot the room didn’t need much dressing. I think what we did still gives an effective look to the room.

We shot the part where Jack is doing his Britney impression in the Mirror. This is an important part of the film and we decided to use a tilt up to a reveal of the Dad being stood behind. Also we needed to get several close ups of the Dad’s reactions to this. Tom gave us some great faces to work with.

After this we had to shoot the rather more serious scenes of Jack being thrown out of the house. We started with the set up of the suitcase being filled in a rushed manner. These were pretty simple to shoot. We also had to record some voice work from tom, of angry shouting to put over the scenes where George is imaging that he could be kicked out. While this was being done, to save time Ben and I went out get a couple of Shots of outside of the house.

When we had done this we had to shoot where Jack gets kicked out. We had to get him made up with bruise makeup and fake blood. We also then had to get the shots of the door slamming in Jack’s face and him walking up the street. We decided to do this at several different frame rates so we had the option of using slow motion in the edit.

Overall it was another successful shoot where we got everything we needed and were able to do this in a manner that was not stressed or rushed. I think that this is the best way to work as when there is stress there is the tendency to become forgetful and also for friction to arise between people. This is something I want to avoid as it makes for an atmosphere that is counter productive. So far we have all gotten on well and worked together as a tem in an effective manner. 

pre production

Pre production (30^th March-20^th April)

For the Drama project I have undertaken the role of producer, Therefore a large proportion of my work has been during preproduction. As a group we began panning this project very early, having a production meeting as soon as we were set the brief. This was incredibly productive as by the time we were finished we had a fully formed idea, which was them taken by James and crafted into a script over the Easter holidays. It was definitely to start planning early as if we hadn’t we could have ended up in the horrible situation, that during the Easter holidays we’d be trying to plan and with people being all over the country and working etc, being left with one week for preproduction. To my mind this would have been a nightmare. As we had started early it meant that I could start planning actors and locations over the Easter holidays, giving me more time to sort things out. When I got the script, I felt that it was number one a great piece of work, nut secondly achievable in the timeframe we had. Reading it as a producer, I saw nothing that would cause any massive difficulties> from my point of view it was important that due to various constraints including time and budget the script was doable and would still be a great piece of work. However at the same time it was snappy, interesting and entertaining.

Now we had a script we had to plan to make it reality. The first hurdle was locations. The living room was the biggest problem from my point of view of trying to find one. There was no way we would use any of our living rooms, using the sterile environment of a student kitchen/living area would have ruined the aesthetics of the film. And as far as we were concerted you there is not really a completely effective way of set dressing that disguises it. There is also the unwritten rule of never shooting in student halls. One option we had was to shoot at my godparents’ house in Chesterfield. It is close enough to Sheffield to be a feasible location, and it also had the right ‘look’. The kind of homely feel that we wanted to create with in the film. Unfortunately, we were unable to match up schedules, even though they were more than happy for us to film at their home it would have been too late by the time they were available. Luckily the bar where Katie (editor) works, is allowing us to film there. So with a few minor changes to the script we have managed to overcome this problem. The park scenes have presented no problems thus far. After a location scout we have decided to use Weston Park. It is an incredibly beautiful location, lending itself to the ‘look’ that we are envisioning for the film. Lucy (director), Ben (Cinematographer) and I did a location scout that we could work out where we wanted to film in the park. Also they were planning in terms of setups, shots, blocking etc. This means that on the day we’ll be able to be efficient in our filming. Ben will be able to plan a more effective shortlist and I will therefore be able to create a realistic and more detailed schedule.  In my opinion planning is everything. The bedroom scenes will be shot at Ben’s house, the attic room is plenty big enough, and with set dressing will look convincingly like a teenage boy’s bedroom. So there we have it 3 locations sorted and ready for filming.

I began the process of recruiting actors as soon as I had the script and knew what we were looking for. The first port of call was the casting info on blackboard. I began by emailing all the performing arts students who had registered their interest in being in student films. I received two replies from this. After discussion with the group, and looking at the previous films they had been in we decided to get one of them in for audition. As well as this there are some friends of Katie’s that had shown an interest so we got them in for an audition also. After auditions it was decided to cast Mike and Mark in the roles of Jack and George respectively, as they seemed to fit the roles best. Casting the role of the father was much more of a challenge. After contacting as many am drams, acting society’s theatre groups as I could find in the local area, I had no luck either there was no reply of it was a no. After asking around I was given the information of some online casting agencies. After putting a few ‘adverts’ I received a few replies. At this point we were running out of time, and were auditioning Tom. The actors that had got back to me were unable to fit with our schedule and after the audition Tom was pretty much perfect for the role. After the casting we went into rehearsals, wanting to see how the actors would work together and to let them get used to each other, the script and working with us. It also meant that shooting would go much smoother as people knew what they were doing, and with a limited time for production, this was very important in my view.

               Now we have actors and locations we have to sort out the finer points of planning and scheduling the shoot. Firstly I put together a week by week schedule going by who was available when and when we could use locations, by making different checklists, matching up availabilities, I was easily able to draw up a schedule to email everyone to make sure it fitted in with everyone. To my mind it is paramount to be well planned and organised in advance. The idea of being left in a complete panic an hour before a shoot is supposed to start is not ideal. In fact it is to be avoided to at all costs. Next it was important that I had the shot lists so that I could plan out the day’s shooting. The only slight difficulty with this is until we actually get onto set I’m not entirely sure how long setups will take with lighting and so on. However after the first shoot in Maggie Mays on Monday 23^rd April, I’ll have a better idea of how long it’ll take meaning that further shoots will have a schedule closed to actual set ups times. For now I have taken considered decision as to hoe long things will take from previous shoots and the rehearsals. Effective scheduling is definitely an important factor when working in a film shoot as you have to get everything done. Especially when you have extra constraints of limited actor and location availability.

As a producer I was incredibly Happy with how organised we were as a group and I feel that as we go into production this will pay off.

Sign Language

'Sign Language' Oscar Sharp (2010)

I really enjoyed this film, it was something a little different and it brought a fresh spark of humour. It was also sweet and touching.

The genre, is sort of ‘mockumentary’. It follows the conventions of a short documentary. The protagonist talking to the camera in a way which is conveying their story and 'factual' information. Although here it is obviously a fictional premise. I like this style as I find that it is a window to so many other genres, they mostly cross over with comedy but they can be more than that, they can be satirical or romantic or even action. There have been fictional films made in the style of documentary that don’t necessarily fall into the ‘mockumentary’ category. I think ‘Sign language’ is very close t the boundary of mockumentary. They usually aim to poke fun, where as I don’t think that was the filmmakers aim here. The film tells a nice story, of one man and him moving from one place in his life to another. Of him moving up in the world. But also it tells a love story, al be it one that happens off screen but it is obviously there none the less. This film encompasses a lot with in five minutes.

In terms of the characters, the main character, Ben is a very likable guy. The filmmaker has introduced him very effectively and quickly. From his dialogue it is clear how enthusiastic he is about his job. Clothing can also tell us a lot about a character. It’s human nature to draw conclusions about a character from the clothing, so Ben’s costume is important. His gloves are the part of his costume in shot most often, the multi coloured wool gives the impression that he is maybe a ‘hippy’ type character, according to the stereotype people dressed in his style of dress are seen as ‘hippy types’, probably vegetarian, part of green peace e.t.c. This is not the truth but still, looking at films in a critical light one should no ignore when a character is conforming to a stereotype, weather it reflects reality or not. Also it matches the dress of the love interest; this according to codes tells the viewer that they are well matched. Their colourful dress also helps them to stick out from the rather drab grey streets of London in the rain. It helps to reinforce the idea of this character being a very happy individual. Again this reinforces the how real the character feels to the audience. In a short film there is not a lot of time to establish a character, so every detail is important when creating a believable, three dimensional character that the audience can relate to or sympathise with.

A lot of the framing is very close, there are a lot of shots of Ben that are very tight on his face, where as the other characters are seen in the wide from Ben’s point of view.  This conveys that he is possibly lonely as the other people are only observed from afar. What it also does in reinforce the idea that we are seeing the world from his point of view. The camera never moves from him or where he is stood while he is Oxford Street. This does give a feeling of isolation, but when at the end of the film where his fellow sign guys show that they do care and he should talk to the girl he walk out of frame. This signifies moving on, he’s been stuck in this same place for year but now the promotion has given him this push he has needed. The walking out of frame is important as though out the film the tight framing has enhanced this idea of being in one place and cut off and then walking out of the frame is a visual signal that this is over for him, that he is moving on.

The music, a gentle acoustic guitar track serves two purposes as far as I’m concerned. It help to create the mood of the film, it punctuates the emotional moments of the film. It is slightly melancholic, reflecting that Ben is a little sad at it being his last day before he moves on. It is odd because it does have a slightly sad edge but at the dame time the rhythm is slightly more chipper and the chord progression are in a major tone, giving it a happier feel. In general the sound design is quite normal. There is a layer of atmos which gives context to the scenes, shows where the characters are and makes it seem more real. Then there is the dialogue which is a monologue. Then there is the music which helps to establish a mood quickly in a short piece of work.

In terms of how this will influence our piece. I don’t think that its style is something that we will draw on as we have a very clear idea of what styles we want, which have been discussed in our production meetings.  However we did like the tone of this piece. There is a tendency with British drama, coming from the social realist traditions, to be rather depressing. This piece is light hearted and does not take itself too seriously. In our production meeting it was unanimous that we did not want to make a film that left the audience feeling sad o with a slightly more pessimistic view on life than they started with. There is an abundance of ‘hard hitting’ short dramas out there, and we want to do something with comic elements and that leaves the audience felling a little more optimistic. In my view this is what sign Language does and I think that is something we will definitely take from it.

Sign language is a film that I really enjoyed and I think it has a broader message. The Character who has an all be it ‘lousy’ job, is incredibly passionate about what he does and is happy. I think that the film conveys a great message about life that it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you enjoy it and it makes you happy.